HEIF/HEIC support with PhotoStructure
Why? #
Several smartphones default to storing photos as .heic
, rather than .jpeg
.
These .heic
files are compressed with the High Efficiency Image File
Format.
Unfortunately, due to patent and licensing
issues,
it’s up to you to manually install one of these software packages on your own
computer if you’re not on macOS.
🛡 Consider using VirusTotal #
Always scan any software before installation.
macOS installation #
On macOS, you’re already all set. PhotoStructure (as of v1.0.0) uses sips
, which is installed as part of macOS,
and has been since 10.3.
Linux/Debian/Ubuntu installation #
On other platforms, PhotoStructure looks for an externally-installed copy of heif-convert
, which is part of libheif.
Open a terminal and run
sudo apt install libheif-examples
Windows 10 installation #
Option 1: Use Cygwin #
If you’re already using cygwin, just install the
libheif-tool
package:
- Launch the Cygwin
setup-x86_64.exe
- Bounce on the “Next” buttons until you get to the
Select Packages
window. - In the
View
pulldown, selectFull
. - Type
libheif-tool
into theSearch
box - In the
New
column, pick the latest version (currently1.10.0-1
) - Click
Next
.
PhotoStructure will automatically look in C:\cygwin64\bin
(after looking at
all other directories already in your %PATH%
).
Option 2: Install manually #
We’ll be using this fork of libheif that adds windows support.
-
Download the Windows binary build of libheif from github.
-
As with all software, scan the download for viruses.
-
Extract the contents of the
.7z
archive. You may need to install 7zip to open and extract the archive. -
Move
heif-convert.exe
into a directory that is in your%PATH%
. You may want to add abin
directory to your home directory, put heif-convert.exe in there, and add that directory to your PATH.Alternatively, set the
PS_HEIF_CONVERT_PATH
environment variable to the full native path to the binary.
Verify the installation #
Start PhotoStructure and open the About window. Verify that there’s a âś… green check mark by HEIF support
:

Screenshot of PhotoStructure’s about page (v1.0.0)